Zynga drops U.S. online gambling plans

Zynga is dropping plans to pursue a license for online gambling in the United States, sending the company's shares sharply lower.

Chief Operations Officer David Ko told investors on a conference call late Thursday that Zynga would continue its online gambling efforts in the United Kingdom, but that it was"making the focus choice" not to pursue it for the United States.

The company reported a second-quarter loss Thursday that was wider than the loss in the first quarter. It also warned of more losses in the current quarter.

"As we looked at the social gaming, free-to-play opportunity which continues to grow, we're not executing against that," said Ko on the call with investors. "And so, we really just centered around focus."